said Maglarion.Sicarion leaned back in his chair, sipped his wine, and grinned. “You’ve changed.”They sat together in the common room of an inn not far from Malarae’s chapterhouse of the Imperial Magisterium. Magi visiting from other cities and provinces of the Empire often stayed here when they wished to avoid the chapterhouse for whatever reason.Such as the recent upheaval, for instance. The great weapon at Caer Magia had failed, destroying the First Magus, the high magi, and many of the most powerful master magi. The remaining magi of the Magisterium had fractured into squabbling factions, and many rumors claimed that the Emperor and the Ghosts would seize control of the Empire once more. Sicarion hardly cared who ruled the Empire.But he cared about killing…and the impending civil war offered so many opportunities for it. “How so?” said Maglarion.Sicarion looked at the older man and grinned. In truth, Maglarion looked only a little older than when Sicarion had last seen him thirty years ago.
